Dr. A. A. Kamenskaya

[biographical sketch with some excursions
into the history of the Russian Section of the Theosophical Society]
by N. Reinke

Anna Alexeyevna Kamenskaya was born Aug. 25th 1867 in Pavlovsk
near St. Petersburg. Her parents were of nobility and of
middle wealth, and she passed her early childhood in Germany
(in Bawarien and Wurtemberg). From age 9 to 15, she
lived in Geneva, Switzerland, and after graduating from
school she returned to Petersburg to become a student
of the Higher Women College.

The financial situation of her parents had deteriorated at
that time and after graduating from College she had to
work. She taught French language in the gymnasiums of Mesdames Obolenskaya
and Stoyunina. Simultaneously with C. L. Helmboldt she started
a primary school for children. In the evenings they worked
in the free adult school in the workers block. Anna was interested
in social issues and took active part in the organization
of soup kitchens and people's libraries. The women rights
was also of great interest to her, and it was on that
ground that her relationship with A. P. Filosofova got started.

Anna Kamenskaya made her acquaintance with theosophy through
Nina Gernet who was a friend of her since childhood, and
was remotely accepted as an independent member of the English
Section of the Theosophical Society. In 1902 she visited
London and attended lectures of Annie Besant. On her return
to Petersburg she began her active theosophical work. She
had a strong will and knew well what she wanted and what
she strove for. There was much charm in her, and all who
knew her personally talked about her with praise. These character
traits helped her to draw around her the talented and devoted
workers, such as Cecilia Ludwigovna Helmboldt, Varvara Nikolayevna
Pushkina, Yelena Fiodorovna Pisareva, Anna Pavlovna Filosofova,
Sofia Vladimirovna Gerie*, Yelizaveta Wilhelmovna Radzevich,
A. V. Uknovskaya, Pavel Ilyich Timofeyevsky*, Kirpichnikova, Mintzlova*,
Laletin's* pair, Evgeny Mihailovich Kuzmin*, Dr. Viktor Viktorovich
Gintze and many others.

* Many of the persons mentioned were still living
in the USSR, and to avoid endangering their lives, the author
did use dots instead of writing their name when corresponding.
I marked by an asterisk those names which I tried to guess,
so errors are possible. – Transl. note.

Anna Kamenskaya lectured and organized circles for people
interested in theosophy, and in 1909* the Russian Theosophical
Society was established, with branches in other
cities of Russia. Anna was elected president. Headquarters
were in Petersburg, Ivanovskaya 22 f.24. Anna was also president
of the Petersburg branch. Other branches were in Moscow
(pres. S. Gerie), in Kiev (Y.V. Radzevich, then E.M.K.),
in Harkov, in Kaluga (E.F.Pisareva), in Rostov-on-Don, in
Yalta, and in 1921 in Zhitomir (V.V. Gintze). In some
cities there were no branches but groups of theosophists
and inquirers existed, as in Poltava, Kislovodsk and others.
The German theosophical circle of Petersburg, which held meetings
at Mrs. Pantenius joined the Russian T.S.. Almost every year
Anna made lecture tours in Russia, visiting not only
those cities which had branches but several other cities
where lecturing was possible. She didn't lose her contact
with International T.S. and regularly attended the theosophical
congresses.

* Most sources say 1908. – Transl. note.

In the Petersburg branch she led the studies and organized
public lectures on a regular basis, which as a rule were
presented in the hall of the Tenishev College. She read
most of these lectures herself. One of those
lectures, "What is Theosophy", was published. It was a small
booklet in which the basics of theosophy were laid out in simple,
clear and serious form.

Though activity of the Russian Theosophical Society began after
1905, when the freedom of speech and meetings was officially
permitted in Russia, the government was not very friendly
disposed to public lectures. In 1910 or 1911 the prosecutor
accused Anna of sacrilege, for in one of her public lectures
in which she expressed doubt that the emperor Constantin
the Great was a saint, because the facts of history proved
the contrary. The court process took place
and Anna was thoroughly vindicated. It was a governmental
attempt to discredit the T.S. in the eyes of the Russian
public.

After the "Russian Theosophical Society" [R.T.S.] was started,
Anna widened her activity. She started the magazine "Vestnik
Teosofii" (Messenger
of Theosophy) which was issued 10 times a year. It was voluminous
and a serious magazine, around 100 or more pages, which printed
both original and translated articles. She always wrote an editorial
"On the watchpost" and for the most part she also was responsible
for the sections "Theosophical chronicle", "Bibliography" and "Spiritual
search". She often wrote forewords to the theosophical books which
were published. Between 1908 to 1919 the "Vestnik" (in Petersburg) and
"Lotos" (in Kaluga, run by E. Pisareva) publishing houses issued
more than 40 titles of theosophical books, some
of them going through a second or third printing.

Anna Kamenskaya and her sister Margarita Alexeyevna
Kamenskaya* came to Adyar in 1916. Anna lived there for
more than a year. Besides personal work, she studied Sanskrit
manuscripts, and same resulted in her excellent translation
of The Bhagavad Gita.** While retaining many Sanskrit words
which gave the style to the Lord's Song, she succeeded to
put it down in simple and clear language, in spite of the
very abstract content.

* At the beginning of the 1920's M. Kamenskaya was Gen.
Secretary of German Section of T.S.
** Till now this translation is one of the two best translations
to the Russian. – Transl. note.

After the October Revolution, the bolsheviks didn't pay much
attention to the societies which had no political interest.
But in 1921 they decided to put an end to all "bourgeois
leagues" and
started to repress their leaders. But shortly before
their planned arrest, Anna Kamenskaya and Cecilia Helmboldt
succeeded in crossing the border into Finland. As per Annie
Besant's wish, they settled in Geneva. The Swiss Section
of the T.S. were experiencing some problems at that time,
and they succeeded to revive and harmonize work of the Section.

Anna began to receive letters from the Russian refugees from
all around the world, and soon through her intermediary helped
organize entire groups. Thus in Tallinn the lodge "Kitezh" was
born, "St. Grail"
was formed in Riga, "Yaroslav Mudry" (the knight Yaroslav the
Wise) in Belgrad, "Yedinenie" (Unification) in London, "The
Russian Lodge"
in China, Tienzin, "Vasanta" in Prague, "Giordano Bruno" and
later the group "Vladimir Krasnoye Solnyshko" (knight Vladimir
the Red Sun) in Geneva. In 1925 there were already 7 Russian
lodges outside Russia, which were in contact with Kamenskaya
and were willing to join Adyar.

A. Kamenskaya, C. Helmboldt and V. Pushkina attended the Golden
Jubilee T.S. congress in Adyar. At the meeting of the International
Council Anna proposed the formation of the "R.T.S
outside Russia" on the basis of
the 7 lodges scattered over the world. The T.S. in Russia was
already closed down at that time, and it was important
to preserve the Russian theosophical movement abroad. It
enabled the continuation of the theosophical work
according the traditions worked out in Russia and to prepare
new theosophical workers. Dr. Annie Besant, President of
the T.S. supported her proposal and pointed out that no society
could foresee such a historical situation that "heart and
brain" of the country was kicked out by the revolution. The
Council hesitated, for according to T.S. constitution each
section must have its own territory, but being fascinated by
Besant and Kamenskaya's speeches, it unanimously chartered "R.T.S
outside Russia".

Sometime later due to the political situation and difficult
circumstances some lodges ceased their work, but new
centers were born during that period:
"Alkonost" (a mythical bird) and "Blagovolenie" (Goodwill)
in Paris,
"Bely Lotos" (White Lotus) in Belgium, "Svetlana" in Boston, "Zhar
Ptitza"
(Firebird) in Berlin.

From the time of the organization of the "R.T.S. outside
Russia", Anna
had renewed the publishing activity. The "Messenger" began
publication in the form of small brochures.
Anna Kamenskaya and Cecilia Helmboldt received financial help
from the European Federation of the Theosophical Society
and from lodge "Svetlana" for
support of the publishing house. E. Pisareva helped much
by her excellent translations. They printed around 20 books,
among which were the extensive ones such as "Ancient Wisdom",
"Esoteric Christianity", "On the hidden meaning of life" (by
E. Pisareva) and a section on Symbolism from the "Secret Doctrine".

In 1926 Anna received a doctor's degree from the University
of Geneva for her translation of "The Bhagavad Gita" from
Sanskrit to French.* Until 1950, she lectured at that university
on comparative religion; later on she accepted a second
chair for aesthetics.

* In 1925 she has also published the corrected Russian
translation of "The Bhagavad Gita": Paris, Editions Adyar,
1925. – Transl. note.

To the end of World War Two, when political situation in the
world had changed, the General Council of T.S., trying to
avoid political complications and involvement of the Society
into politics, asked Anna to return the charter for "R.T.S.
outside Russia" and proposed to the Russian theosophists
to join the local national sections of T.S.*

* Another reason was that during the war, many lodges
closed and as there were not seven lodges anymore to maintain
the status of a section. – Transl. note.

And so the "R.T.S. outside Russia" was replaced by the "Free
League of Russian Theosophists Outside Russia" and again
under the direction of Anna Kamenskaya. It was rather a spiritual
association than an official organization.

When the war was over, countless letters were received by
Anna from camps in Germany and Austria. In spite of her old
age and her work of two university chairs, she succeeded
in answering letters promptly. Through her, persons
found each other. And as it became possible, she began to
send them theosophical literature from her bookstore that
had survived (stores in Germany and other places having perished).
Upon hearing that someone was in need, she would
send a food parcel. Her letters shone with such love and
warmth of heart, that everyone naturally considered her their
mother. In all their troubles they asked her for
advice, and always received a prompt and wise answer.

Most of the Russian theosophists were individually spread
over camps and cities of Germany, but in Munchen, the "Lotus" lodge was
formed while in Schwabisch Gmunde, a theosophical center
was started.

Anna took active part in the work of the Swiss Section and
was the president of lodge "Paix et Lumière". She
wrote a series of works in French and also regularly wrote
for "The Theosophist". There were no funds for publishing books
and the magazine, but Anna continued to issue "Messenger" four
times a year, typing it on a typewriter.*

* Such kind of a magazine was passed through the chain of readers
which sent it from each to another by mail. – Transl. note.

During her short sickness she continued to work in spite
that the doctors prohibited her to strain herself; she never
cared much about her health. On the 23rd of June 1952, in
sleep, she left the physical plane. She was almost 85 years
old. It was the life full of service to others, the life
in which she embodied theosophical ideals.

There's no doubt that even now, being on higher planes, she strives to
help Russian theosophists and makes efforts to unite them.

Everyone to whom the spiritual life of our motherland is dear, will honour
the memory of this noble and selfless soul.

[Written in 1955 for the Russian theosophical magazine
Alba which was so named in memory of Anna Kamenskaya (her pen-name) and
was published in Boston. The photo is also borrowed from there]